A defiant president Bashar al-Assad warned against outside interference in Syria and shrugged off international criticism in a live interview with state television on Sunday night.

His fourth address during a growing revolt against his rule was aimed as much at the international community who have sided decisively with protesters as it was at the nation.

In a comment that appeared designed to include Turkey, he warned "countries close and far away" against intervening.

"Any action against Syria will have huge consequences that they [foreign countries] can never tolerate," he said.

Last week, the US led a choreographed call with the leaders of the EU, UK, France and Germany calling on Assad to step aside, amid an escalated military offensive since 31 July.

Assad dubbed the powers "colonial" and, addressing his domestic audience, repeated talk of reforms. He suggested a law on forming political parties would be issued next week and that elections for the largely rubber-stamp parliament would be held in February.

He made no mention of his position as president.

In a suggestion that the violence may continue, Assad said unrest had become more militant, but that he was confident the regime could deal with it.

Large-scale military assaults appear to have ceased, but gunfire and arrests by the security forces continue to be reported across the country.

Two people were shot dead when trying to flee from Latakia on Sunday, activists said, while a curfew was being enforced in towns across the southern plain on the border with Jordan.

Assad has reportedly told a UN delegation from the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs that arrived on Saturday that it can travel to any part of the country it wishes.

Before a planned visit to Latakia, a western diplomat said reports had been received of a large-scale clean-up of the al-Ramel Palestinian refugee camp in the city, which was heavily targeted in an assault from land and sea last week.

"Reports of a clean-up do square perfectly with the version of events which the regime is denying," the diplomat said. "But the evidence in the form of personal testimonies of what happened in Latakia is overwhelming and undeniable. Assad can run but he can't hide from the arm of international law."

Residents of Hama and Homs reported similar clean-ups by government officials after rampages through both cities by security forces in recent months.

Before the broadcast ended, protests chanting against Assad broke out across the country in a sign that nothing the president says will quell dissent after months of bloodshed.

Some protesters did not watch the broadcast at all, while others treated it as a form of light entertainment. Tweeters using the hashtag "AssadLies" denounced the address. "This is of no importance, a joke," one activist said, speaking during the broadcast which was preceded by a montage of images of Syria and Assad.

Despite international pressure, the violent crackdown has continued with more that 350 people said to have been killed this month – adding to a death toll of more than 2,000 civilians.

The country's third city, Homs, was particularly targeted at the weekend, with tens of people killed and many more arrested by security forces, activists said.Residents portrayed Homs as a city bracing itself for renewed destruction."There are snipers on all the buildings. The tanks aren't in the centre, but around the edges. The situation is terrible," the resident said.

International calls for Assad to leave have sharply intensified scrutiny of his regime and its sustained crackdown against demonstrators, which it continues to cast as a fight against terrorists.

The western stance is set to greatly increase the stakes for Assad, who now faces pariah status among leaders whose attention he had previously coveted.

It has also for the first time raised the possibility of a Libyan-style military intervention, something which had not previously been considered despite over five months of violence in which an estimated 2,500 people have died and which have all but shut down the Syrian economy.

A Guardian poll published at the weekend revealed that 80% of respondents supported some sort of military intervention in Syria. But there is no western appetite for military action in the densely populated country – and Syrians almost unanimously reject the idea.

There are fears that the western demands could embolden him, giving him little option but to fight as he struggles to retain control of the hardline police state his family has ruled as a personal fiefdom for more than four decades.

His traditional international support base remains resolute. Iranian support for the regime makes it a key factor in calculations and Russia has said it does not support calls for Assad to leave.

In the interview Assad said he was unclear what Turkey, a former close ally, is thinking. Ankara has stepped up its rhetoric against Assad and it has been rumoured that it may implement a buffer zone if more refugees flee across the border, but it has stopped short of calling for him to resign.

Istanbul was on Sunday hosting a meeting of Syrian opposition groups who are attempting to elect a national council.

The new body would aim to position itself as an alternative leadership, in the same way that the National Transitional Council did in the weeks after Colonel Gaddafi was ousted from eastern Libya. That body eventually won international recognition.

"The opposition is starting to realise that they cannot be all chiefs and that they have to live up to the expectations of the international community," veteran opposition figure Khaled Haj Saleh told Reuters.

However, some opposition activists rejected the move, saying those arranging the council has decided to without consulting certain groups.

The UN last week said it had identified 50 Syrian regime figures who may have committed crimes against humanity. In another sign of mounting international anger, the EU is considering placing a ban on Syrian oil exports, which account for 25% of the country's economy. Assad said sanctions would not hurt but with industry at a standstill, no tourism, and cash reserves rapidly dwindling, such a move would likely prove difficult for the regime to withstand in the long run.

Fierce clashes are reported between rebels and Gaddafi forces in the Abu Salim district in Tripoli, just south of Gaddafi's former compound. There is speculation that Gaddafi – or one or more of his sons – may be holding out in the district